Single Reviews

Single Review: Don Williams featuring Alison Krauss, "I Just Come Here For the Music"

July 6, 2012 Ben Foster 2

A musical pairing that combines two of the most beautifully understated, comforting voices in country music. How could it not be good? Happily, songwriters John Ramey, Bobby Taylor, and Doug Gill turn out a fine piece of hillbilly poetry worthy of both talents.

Single Review: Lee Brice, “Hard to Love”

July 6, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 5

Hard to love, but easy enough to like.

Single Review: Carrie Underwood, "Blown Away"

July 5, 2012 Sam Gazdziak 49

Four albums into her career, Carrie Underwood’s career growth has been fairly stunning.

It’s hard to imagine that the talent-show winner who sang “Jesus Take the Wheel” would morph into a fully fledged pop superstar with speaker-rattling pop-rock songs like “Good Girl” and “Blown Away.”

While the evolution has been fascinating to watch, the problem is that someone who was thought of as the next female country superstar has effectively left country music behind and moved on to bigger things, and it’s a loss for the genre.

Single Review: David Nail, “Someone Like You”

July 5, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 4

You really can’t mess this one up.

“Someone Like You” is going to be covered endlessly anyway. It’s already a standard.

Single Review: Tim McGraw, "Truck Yeah"

July 3, 2012 Ben Foster 49

Really, Tim McGraw?

Really, Tim McGraw?

How is this not embarrassing?

Single Review: Lauren Alaina, "Eighteen Inches"

July 2, 2012 Tara Seetharam 6

Lauren Alaina’s “American Idol” legacy can be summed up in one phrase: failure to meet potential. The Season 10 runner-up kicked off her “Idol” run with a fiery display of vocal talent, but she was never able to match that confidence or sense of identity in subsequent live performances. Worse yet, her “Idol” catalogue stood in stark contrast to that of winner and fellow country artist Scotty McCreery, whose best strength was his firm grasp of self.